But I have said enough of this great man, and we will now leave him; but, I hope, not without gaining some instruction from his example. In those wonderful gifts and acquirements for which he was so distinguished, we cannot imitate him; but in his love for the word of God, in his zeal to make it known to others, and in his reverence for all that was holy and sacred,-we may, and we ought to imitate him. Let us try then, in these respects, to be the wiser and the better for what we have just read about Robert Boyle.

I should tell you, that the preacher of Boyle's funeral sermon, was a person who well deserves a place in the list of the great men of this period. I mean Dr. Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury, who had been an intimate friend of William, when Prince of Orange. He was the author of some useful and important works; particularly a History of the Reformation, and a History of the eventful period of his own times.

And now, we will turn to another great man not unworthy of being associated with the good and honourable Robert Boyle. I mean John Locke. In the county of Somerset, there is a village called Wrington, a place of no particular importance in itself, but one which is entitled to some distinction, as being the birth-place of this celebrated man. If, in the

course of your journeyings, you ever find yourselves in this quiet village, and walk around it in order to admire the scenery, and to examine any objects of interest that it may contain, your attention will be directed to a certain house, part of which has been used as the national school, and you will be told, "In this house was born the famous John Locke." Now this is the very person whom I wish you just now to remember, as one among the many great men of the 17th century. But before we say any thing more about him, let us pass, in thought, from the house in which he was born, to the church, the fine old church, in which he was baptized; and then we will ask to look at the parish register, that we may read from it the following entry,"A. D. 1637. Julie 16. John the sonne of Jeremy Locke, and Elizabeth his wife."-Little did those who witnessed the baptism of that child, imagine that he would one day show himself a man of such distinguished powers, as to hand down his name with honour to the latest generations of his countrymen.

Locke was educated at Westminster school, and afterwards went to the university of Oxford. Later in life he studied physic. Several years he spent on the Continent, where he wrote some of his books; and he returned to

England in the same fleet that brought over William, Prince of Orange.

The great work for which Locke is known, is his Essay on the Human Understanding. The Mind was the great subject on which he thought, and on which he wrote; and a more important and interesting, but, at the same time, a more difficult subject, he could not have selected. "Know thyself,” was a precept given by one of the ancients to the enquirer of his day; and it would be well if Christian people in modern times, were to pay some attention to the wise hint of this heathen philosopher. We are usually more disposed to look without, than to look within; and we often know a great deal of what is passing in the world around, while there remains a little unseen world in our own minds, and in our own hearts, of which we know nothing. Now it was the business of Locke's life to investigate the laws of mind:-to try to ascertain how it is the infant gains his first ideas; and then how it is that he extends them, and goes on from feeling and observing, to comparing and reasoning, until after the long, and almost unconscious process of months or years, he becomes a thinking, as well as a sensitive being. At some future time, you will, perhaps, read with pleasure and improvement the various thoughts of Locke on these matters; but

meanwhile, try to learn from him now, first of all, to look within, and to trace your own words and actions to their first beginnings in the mind and in the heart. And endeavour too, to have your mind rightly informed, and your heart wisely directed, in order that your words and actions may be good and useful,worthy of a reasonable and an immortal creature.

Now had Locke examined only his own mind, and the mind of others, he might indeed have thought and written much that was learned and clever, and yet have been very little benefited, morally benefited at least, by all his researches and studies. But happily, this Christian philosopher looked upward as well as inward, and both are equally important. Like Boyle, he loved to direct his thoughts to the greatest of all subjects-religion. "There is," he said, "one science incomparably above all the rest; I mean theology, which, containing the knowledge of God and his creatures, our duty to him and our fellow creatures, and a view of our present future state, is the comprehension of all other knowledge directed to its true end, the honour and veneration of the Creator, and the happiness of mankind. This is that noble study which is every man's duty, and every one that can be called a rational creature is capable of." -Like Boyle too, Locke was a diligent reader

of the Scriptures; and the last years of his life were spent chiefly in studying them, and in writing theological works. And now, as we have talked about the birth-place of this distinguished man, let us go, ere we part from him, to his dying-bed, and learn a lesson, a solemn lesson, from him there. His last words to a friend will show us the view he took of his life, when it was quickly passing away from him, with all its occupations, and its joys and sorrows." May you live," he said, as he bade this friend an affectionate farewell,

-"may you live and be happy, in the enjoyment of health and freedom, and those blessings which Providence has bestowed upon you. This life is a scene of vanity, which soon passeth away, and affords no solid satisfaction, but in the consciousness of doing well and in the hopes of another life. This is what I can say upon experience, and what you will find to be true, when you come to make up the account."

There is still one other great man of whom we must speak before we close our chapter. And as when we were talking of Locke, I took you to a house and to a church which is associated with his name, so I will now introduce you to Sir Isaac Newton, by directing your attention to a college in the University of Cambridge, where is erected a statue to